The Renewal
by Voloran
Summary: Thirty years after ROTJ, a darkness spreads across the Galaxy. Luke Skywalker and a group of Jedi go to scout a mysterious planet but never return. Another Jedi is sent to look for them.
1. Jedi and Holocron

The Renewal  
Chapter One: The Jedi  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.  
  
A small ship jumped out of hyperspace. An azure-brown planet lay before it. The Corellian DX-119, the Robust sped towards the planet. In the control chamber of the ship, a cowled man viewed the sight before him. There was an aura of power surrounding him. Also, there was curiosity. His face bore a frown and there were creases on his forehead. Many questions flitted in his mind as he thought about his mission objectives. As he neared the planet, the ship's cloaking devices were unleashed and the Robust disappeared from view. It entered the atmosphere in a blast of speed. A huge building was built on the ground. He came towards it and sighted a landing platform. He landed his ship and stepped out. There were none present to welcome him here. He was cloaked in a brown tunic and his head was cloaked. He was a tall humanoid. He started his stride towards a door at the end of the platform. The door opened and he entered a lighted corridor. The absense of any life was indeed disturbing. He couldn't even 'feel' any lifeform save for insects and non-sapient creatures. The corridor ended in a rather large room with four doors on each side and a viewing gallery on top. He entered the door marked with red.  
  
EVD-43 was a Neimoidian construct. He was a sergeant battle droid. He was programmed by his creators to have more intelligence than the norman battle droids. He had been told to guard the cargo room at the end of the hall. Along with him were twenty more Saa'mur class droids. A couple of destroyer droids guarded the entrance to the hall where EVD-43 stood. And the door to the hall was a thick Ermacrete door. Made to withstand a turbolaser blast. He felt relatively safe, if droids could feel so. Though he knew not what lay in the cargo chamber, it would possibly be something important. It did not matter to him. His duty was to guard it. Yet, who would be foolish enough to assail this heavily guarded room. And anyway, who would be stupid enough to land on this planet. Nevertheless, it paid to be alert. Suddenly, he heard a buzzing sound coming from the other side of the Entrance Door. He heard the destroyers unfurl their lasers and fire. But this firing stopped abruptly. And then, the Ermacrete door shook violently and fell. Dust flew everywhere. And in the middle of it, stood a dark silhouette. He walked steadily towards them.  
  
"Stop right there and identify yourself!" EVD-43 said.  
  
The silhouette said nothing. He raised his hand and five of the droids fell, devoid of power. EVD-43 raised his blaster.  
  
"Fire!" he ordered.  
  
Fourteen battle droids obeyed instantly. Bolts of energy whizzed at the silhouette. Bu he suddenly took out a metal rod and a long bolt of green light emanated from its end. The lasers, meant for the silhouette were reflected against the light and hit those who fired them.  
  
Fourteen battle droids lay on the ground, destroyed by the bolts that they themselves had fired. EVD-43 was the only resistance left. He backed up. The silhouette leapt in the air at an impossible height and landed just in front of EVD-43. He swished his lighsaber in a low thrust and sped behind EVD-43. Before EVD's circuits could realise that his legs had been cut underneath him, the lightsaber plowed through his torso. The silhouette is a Jedi, was the last thing EVD-43, sergeant droid, found before being destroyed.  
  
The Jedi took one look at the mess he had made and smiled grimly. He now looked at the door to the end of the Hall. It was made of the same material as the Entrance Door. He shut off his lighsaber and raised his hands. And then, suddenly, maybe due to some invisible energy, the hinges of the Ermacrete door started shaking. They broke and the door fell to the other side. The Jedi entered the room. It was littered with corpses and destroyed droids. His took off his hood and looked at the room carefully. He was a darkish human male with black, serious eyes. He seemed to almost sniff at the room. Suddenly, his expression changed. He seemed delighted at something. He rushed to and end of the room. He saw the mangled remains of a destroyer droid. He threw it away. A dying man lay below it.  
  
"Master!" the Jedi cried.  
  
The dying master opened his eyes. He had a small, fair face and silver-blonde hair. He was severly injured and it seemed to be painful even to breathe. It was a miracle he was yet alive.  
  
"Eneros?" he enquired. "Yes master. What has happened? No! Master, it cannot be." Eneros, the Jedi wailed. "Eneros, there is no death, there is the force. You must go to the Council and show them this message." The man gasped.  
  
He reached in his bloody and tattered robes and drew out a holocron.  
  
"It is...a Sith Holocron. You must...take...it to the Council." The man's breathing became louder and painful.  
  
Eneros activated it. The message played itself out. There was an expression of disbelief on Eneros's face. Only one thought repeated in his mind. Impossible!  
  
His master seemed to guess it. He gave a weak grin.  
  
"It...is true my friend. That is how...they...got me too."  
  
Eneros could barely nod. His master suddenly gave a lurch and gasped loudly. His head suddenly fell to one side. Eneros weeped. Luke Skywalker, Head of the Jedi Council, Jedi Lord, the hero who killed the powerful Emperor and his dreaded servant, Vader, lay dead.  
  
But Ran Eneros could not stay there. He had to obey the last wishes of his mentor. He took the Holocron and rushed out of the room and the hall. He entered the main hall and saw three Sith standing in preparation. Each wielding a red, double-bladed lightsaber. One was a Gand, one a Ellwyn and one was a Twi'lek. Eneros had but a single bladed lighsaber which wasted no time in getting lit. The Sith surrounded him. Eneros found with surprise that he could not sense them. They were blind spots in the Force. And they attacked all at once.  
  
It is said that to know how it feels to be filled with the Force, one must experience it. It is as if time loses its strictness and slows down. You lose control of your limbs. It is as if you have entered someone else's body. You simply take a rest, allowing the Force to flow through you, and it does the fighting for you. Your limbs move of their own accord. You are simply and observer, a servant viewing the power of the energy that binds the galaxies. That is exactly how Ran Eneros felt. He was not at all worried that he was a lone Jedi with a single bladed saber, fighting three furious Sith, each with a double bladed saber. He felt that he did not need sight at all. He quite simply knew. Parrying and slashing at the relentless attack by the Sith, Eneros felt at ease. He but had to sight a miniscule opening.  
  
It came soon enough. The Gand, lumbering with his saber, stumbled at a thrust by Eneros. It was a small, almost invisible stumble, but Eneros saw it. Jumping in the air, he hacked at the Gand's neck. He lay beheaded. Eneros wasted no time in getting the Gand's lighsaber. Atleast now, he was well armed. The Ellwyn came upon him with great gusto. Eneros moved aside quickly and twitched his finger. The Ellwyn tripped and fell. Eneros plowed his saber right through the Ellwyn's cephalothorax. He now got the Ellwyn's double bladed lightsaber as well. His dropped his single blade. The Twi'lek backed off. Eneros could see fear in his eyes. But rage overcame the fear and the Twi'lek came upon him. Eneros thrust the left lightsaber at him. The Twi'lek swept it away with his saber. But for a microsecond, his torso was left unprotected as his saber warded of Eneron. The right lightsaber went through blood, flesh and bone, and the Twi'lek fell on the floor, dead. Eneron sighed. He shut off the lightsabers and slumped his shoulders.  
  
Suddenly all the four doors opened and literally hundreds of battle droids poured in. With them were five Sith. Enough, thought Eneros. He gave a tremendous jump which landed him on the gallery. The droids fired incessantly at him. He opened a door and fled. Eneros knew that he simply had to run now. He could not fight off so many. He wished he could though. But he had to get to the Council. He reached his ship, and the Force showed him a vision. He would never get off the planet, the Force told him. He switched on the external comlink. His astromech droid whistled and affirmative.  
  
"This is Jedi Knight, Ran Eneros, from the planet Mernon. I have found the missing Jedi. All of them are dead. Including Master Skywalker. He has found some strange information. I am sending the information of this Holocron through the comlink. This place is filled with Sith." He held up the holocron and told the droid to open it and send it to the Jedi Temple. A laser bolt suddenly grazed his ship. Ran took out the two lighsabers and deflected the bolts. Many droids fell. Bu more seemed to come. There were nearly a hundred battle droids firing at him.  
  
And in the Jedi Temple in Coruscant, the Council watched Eneros wielding the lighsaber, and they waited impatiently for his droid to process the Holocron and start the information upload. Eneros disappeared out of view of the droid and the council could no longer see him. Suddenly, there was a cry of pain and the two lighsabers rolled in sight. The were struck by laser bolts and destroyed. Another cry of pain came and a laser hit the astromech droid destroying him and the Holocron. The Jedi Council stood stunned. 


	2. Ceremony and Apprentice

"Luke Skywalker was a great man. His valour and courage was unparalleled. He was also wise. His role in the liberation of the galaxy from the tyranny of oppression will never be forgotten. In his memory, I supreme chancellor for the New Republic, unveil this monument so that his spirit shall be remembered forever in the future"  
  
So said Lisud Neposta, the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic. He looked at the magnificent and colossal statue of the late Jedi Knight. A throng of people stood below looking at the superstructure. The statue of the man who had freed them. The man who had possessed such insurmountable power. Many had come out of sheer curiosity. But more had come to weep at his death.  
  
"And what are we going to do now?" said Eundis Erpon, Jedi Master and Council Member to Arkasattar Pyran, newly elected head of the Jedi Council.  
  
"Do you have the list of casualities?" Pyran asked.  
  
"It's a long one. Other than Master Skywalker, we lost Kyle Katarn, Ebo Jassid, Namun Ospar, Ran Eneros, Jasper Ailen....many fell."  
  
"I despair for Eneros. How much did we get before the droid was destroyed?"  
  
"Very little, all that we could tell was that the Sith have awoken. And these are the Zalidin Sith." Erpon answered.  
  
Pyran shuddered. "Are you sure about the Zalidin?"  
  
"Yes, I am shocked as well, but when we sent the task force, the planet was empty. No sign of it being inhabited. The factory was deserted. But if indeed the Zalidin are involved...we cant say what they can do."  
  
Pyran sighed. The story of the Zalidin was a well kept secret. Only the members of the High Council were ever told this. After the Imperial Age, much information had been lost from the Archives. But the Zalidin story had been recovered. They were a group of Sith Lords who had crashed on a barbarian planet which lacked technology. They had no connection to the galaxy. They had lived there for generations, increasing their power over the dark side of the force until it grew so thick around the planet that the balance of the Force was totally ruined. Scores of Jedi were sent to the planet. They encountered mutated beings proficient in the force. But their power was tremendous. It was, if possible, impossibly great. It was as if they were the Force. The Jedi were massacred. Under Kendrin Pragadon, the Jedi Master, they had fought back and killed some of the Zalidin. Due to this, the Zalidin attempted to increase their power of the dark side. They became invincible. Kendrin was killed and his Jedi armies were murdered. But when it seemed as if the dark side would engulf the entire galaxy, the Zalidin disappeared. Their planet too disappeared. They had all vanished. The Jedi Prophet Darsha Riviss had predicted them to arise again. This incident had been highly embarrassing to the Jedi. But it had mostly been a war between Jedi and Sith. The inhabitants of the galaxy knew nothing of it. This tale was never recorded in the Galactic Archives. Even in the Jedi Archives, it was inaccessible save for a Council Member. If indeed, the Zalidin were out again, only a miracle would save them. There were tales of the Zalidin proficiency in the force that were only terrifying.  
  
Peltir Raneros lit his lightsaber and waved it in front of him. His opponent, a Khiston male parried and quickly thrusted it at Raneros. He dodged it and turned around bringing his saber upon the Khiston powerfully. The Khiston deflected it with ease. Raneros now jumped behind his opponent and gave a backstroke, all under the span of a millisecond. But the Khiston was faster. He had his saber in the right place. The repeated failure of his attempts irritated Raneros. Not only did his blows strike wrong, but also the Khiston managed to do so almost with a lazy impatience. Rage burst through him. Raising his lightsaber, he brought it down upon the Khiston. The opponent merely turned away and twitched his finger. Raneros fell to the wall and his lightsaber flew from his grasp.  
  
"Control your emotions Peltir." The Khiston said, "You cannot let rage flow through you as easily as that. You barely fought it."  
  
"I am sorry master. I will try not to let it happen."  
  
"Good. And at least try to give me an injury...or at least entertain me. Your performance was grossly below par. Considering your talent, you were bad today. Have you been practicing the teras kasi moves I taught you?"  
  
"A bit." Raneros answered sheepishly.  
  
"I thought so too. But you must practice if you want to be a Jedi."  
  
"I will master."  
  
The Khiston walked away. Raneros lit his saber and practiced mock moves with himself. He was talented yes; he had found his midi-chlorian count to be quite high. Yet, he always seemed to lose his connection to the force when he needed it most. It was this fact that had infuriated him. He closed his eyes, attempting to connect to the force. He saw nothing.  
  
He looked at his master walk away. 


End file.
